The BBC has launched a new contest for young dancers to be broadcast next year. 16-20 year olds will compete in four categories – ballet, contemporary, hip-hop and South Asian dance – for the chance to win the title of BBC Young Dancer 2015.

The BBC’s Director-General – and former Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House – Tony Hall says:

‘There are many tremendously talented young people in our country just looking for a chance – and a platform – to show what they can do. I’ve always believed dance matters and this is the BBC inspiring the next generation of talent.’

May 2015 will also see the premiere of Wayne’s new work for The Royal Ballet, Woolf Works. Drawing on the writings of Virginia Woolf, the piece will be the choreographer’s first full-length ballet for the Company.

BBC Young Dancer 2015 will be broadcast next year as part of BBC Four's 'Year of Song and Dance'. The grand final will take place at Sadler's Wells and will be broadcast on BBC Two in May 2015 with further details available in due course.

Following today’s announcement by the BBC Trust regarding the appointment of Tony Hall as the next Director-General of the BBC, Simon Robey, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Royal Opera House, has made the following statement:

“I was not surprised when the BBC turned to Tony to lead them through their current difficulties. They see, as we do, his qualities of leadership and his depth of relevant experience. I can think of nobody better able to bring stability back to the BBC.

“Tony has been a truly distinguished Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House. He has been a tremendous and inspiring force for good. The ROH he will leave in March is very different to the one he took over in 2001. We have a world-class senior team, both artistic and non-artistic, led by Antonio Pappano, Kasper Holten and Kevin O'Hare. Our artistic standards and reputation have never been higher and are unsurpassed around the world. Many, many more people see the extraordinary work of both companies through audience development programmes, ticket pricing initiatives and digital and cinema distribution. We have a very large and impactful education and community engagement programme and we are now a beacon of best practice in the arts sector. We are financially stable and we have changed the mix of our funding so that our ACE grant (now down from 40% to about 25% of our income) and our philanthropic revenue is broadly in balance. Tony deserves credit for all of this and we now face the future, with its inevitable challenges and opportunities, with strong foundations and very broad and loyal support.

“Speaking personally, I will miss him tremendously. He has been an outstanding colleague and friend, as I know he has been to many others at the Royal Opera House.

“We will turn immediately to finding a worthy successor. I am confident that this exceptional place will continue to be led by an exceptional person.

“There will be good occasions to celebrate Tony's extraordinary contribution to the Opera House over the coming weeks and, of course, we all look forward to welcoming him back to the opera and ballet house he loves so much as a treasured member of our audience for years to come.”

Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera added “Tony Hall has been a great friend and colleague and a formidable presence in the Royal Opera House. He has not only created a working atmosphere that is always positive and remarkably focused, but has been on the front line of fighting for the arts in this country. On his watch, the outreach of the Opera House has blossomed through cinema and television, reaching a whole new audience for opera and ballet.

“I’m very sad to be losing Tony to the BBC, but it is obviously a fantastic opportunity for him. We will miss him very much, but wish him only the best of luck.”

Kasper Holten, Director of Opera said “Congratulations to the BBC. They are very lucky. Tony is the most inspirational leader I have ever worked for. He will be sorely missed at the ROH and by me personally, but I am excited for him about this, and I am sure he will do a fantastic job.

“Tony's importance for Royal Opera House cannot be overestimated and he has managed to create an incredible platform for us to do our artistic work and take opera forward.”

Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet said “Tony’s genuine love for ballet and dance has been a huge advantage for The Royal Ballet. He’s done so much, not only for this Company, but for dance in general through the Dance Review and support for the sector. I feel privileged to have worked with him, both in my previous roles and now as Director of The Royal Ballet. He’s been an inspiration and a great support to me over the years, and has been fundamental to our programme of new initiatives to bring ballet to a wider audience. He’s also been a great friend to me and to many people in the building. We will all miss him.”

Halfway through its run, 12 million people have attended the London 2012 Festival across the UK.

The festival began on 21 June and since then has featured more than 25,000 artists in more than 12,000 events and performances. Based on figures calculated at the end of July, 9.6 million people have taken part in free events such as the Royal Opera House’s BP Summer Big Screens and water-bound opera The Owl and the Pussycat.

Other London 2012 festival events involving the ROH included Falstaff, Otello, Les Troyens and our unique collaboration with London’s National Gallery, Metamorphosis: Titian 2012. The free exhibition related to this last event is open until 23 September. Some of our events were also part of the glorious festival within a festival celebrating Shakespeare.

The Festival continues until the final day of the Paralympics on 9 September and, looking back on two weeks of sport so far and ahead to the Paralympics, Royal Opera House Chief Executive Tony Hall wrote of the importance of a cultural as well as sporting legacy from the Games in the Telegraph. He also discussed the possibility of marking the festival a regular occurrence.

Have you enjoyed the London 2012 Festival? Has the summer of sport completely distracted you from the cultural events or have the arts provided a welcome alternative to Olympic fever?

Taking risks in the arts, satisfying passionate audiences and coping with government cuts were just some of the topics covered in recent Insights evening with two leading figures in the arts.

Veteran broadcaster John Tusa led an illuminating discussion with Royal Opera House Chief Executive Tony Hall and Director of Tate Nicholas Serota that offered an insight into the concerns and ambitions of leading figures in the arts.

As well as Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, Tony Hall is also chair of the Cultural Olympiad board, the body overseeing the London 2012 Festival this summer.

Satisfying both audience and artistic ambition was one of the themes. “We have to set the context for the artist to allow honest conversations to take place,” Nicholas explained, “people are much less willing to hear authoritative views from a curator. They want their expertise, dialogue and exchange rather than authoritarian instructions.”

Tony also highlighted the importance of engaging with new audiences, referring to the Royal Opera House High House Production Park in Thurrock: “It is so exciting working with people who would not expect to come across opera and ballet and getting their response to it. It is hugely refreshing and phenomenally important.”

Listen to a clip from the event featuring Tony and Nicholas talking about the impact of new legislation on tax breaks for charitable giving:

In Conversation with… is a series of informal and enlightening interviews designed to offer a window into some of the work behind the Royal Opera House. The next event will feature Les Troyens director David McVicar and take place on the 24th May, followed by an evening with Monica Mason on the 11 June prior to her retirement as Director of The Royal Ballet.

The first stage of Arts Council England’s capital programme was announced today, with applicants now having 18 months to put forward applications for phase two. The money from the capital programme is focused on the refurbishment or extension of existing arts buildings and the replacement of critical equipment.

Arts Council England proposes to invest just over £114 million in this first round of the fund, its first new capital investment in nine years.

Tony Hall, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, said in response to the announcement, "We are hugely grateful that Arts Council England has put us forward to Stage Two of their capital funding programme. Not surprisingly after 13 years since the redevelopment stage equipment, plant and infrastructure are beginning to go wrong, break down and wear out. This money will not be spent on chandeliers and red carpets but on things that make the building function properly and to full capacity in the most energy efficient way. So, we are looking at chillers, stage lifts, stage wagons, roof leaks, stage curtain mechanisms, stage and front of house lighting, overhauling of some of the seating, in fact a huge long list of vital stuff that keeps this building functioning safely and effectively. Being able to draw on a special capital fund to make these essential improvements means that we can continue to invest in our art forms and our programme of education."

]]>0Tom Nelsonhttp://www.roh.org.uk/?p=64042014-05-19T15:58:43Z2011-11-18T11:12:16ZLast week we invited members of Young People in the Arts (YPIA) into the Royal Opera House to witness a ballet rehearsal of Asphodel Meadows with the talented young choreographer Liam Scarlett.YPIA is a forum for young professionals in the industry to meet informally and swap ideas.

Before the rehearsal started we were joined by Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, Tony Hall. I spoke to him about his career to date, what it takes to successfully lead an arts organisation and the future for opera and ballet.

How do you balance risk-taking with projects such as Anna Nicole and the more conservative aspects of running an institution such as this?

It's a really good question. First of all, the schedule has to reflect the many different audiences you're dealing with. We're running La traviata at the moment and were slightly worried about how many performances there were. Actually that's playing awfully well but you don't want to make all your money from one work. So getting the balance right is absolutely key.

With Anna Nicole and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, they both opened within 10 days of each other and there were huge risks involved, but we were talking about them for at least three years from moment of inception. People often think that you take a risk and follow your hunch but that's not how it happened at all.

For young people in the arts, already working in the sector and hoping to lead organisations in the future, how important do you think it is to have experience outside the arts in order to lead successfully?

I don't think you need to go outside. I think attitude and energy matters. you will all know that from working with people yourselves. I think you need to be able to look at yourself from the outside but that doesn't mean you have to leave the arts.

I also think the media is an important part of the arts now. We're all becoming broadcasters and the impact of media on what we can do and the audiences we can reach is crucial.

How is the opera house dealing with the cuts to funding?

When it was clear we were all being asked for a 15% cut, I felt strongly we should accept it and not argue. This is tough but I thought it was right that we share some of the burden of ensuring some of the smaller less well funded companies survive and grow.

What have you done then to absorb that?

Our turnover is £106 million a year. We can't look to make up the shortfall by raising prices. Although ballet is selling out, the top prices for opera are proving harder to sell than they were 2/3 years ago and we want people to be able to afford to come here.

We've looked at efficiencies. We've saved a couple million over the last couple of years, by looking at things like producing our programmes much more cheaply. There's all sorts of little things we can do in order to save money.

We've then looked at how we can make money out of this place. So we set up an organisation called ROH Enterprises - bringing together DVDs, cinemas, catering - and saying, "OK, we want to get a return from that".

Then there's fundraising. We are blessed with a lot of people who give us small amounts of money and some big donors as well. When I came we were bringing in £6.7 million a year and we're now bringing £22 million. Everybody in this place contributes to that, when you walk in this building, the glory of this place is that everybody here cares about what they do.

What do you think is going to be the biggest challenge the arts leaders of the future will face?

The biggest challenge must be to keep whatever you're doing exciting. And that sounds naff but it's not. If you can't create a buzz and energy around what you're doing then you're not doing your job properly.

The thing which has worried me most about the 15% cut is that you suddenly play safe, that you make compromises. Then people suspect that and audiences don't come. The most important thing is to keep the place exciting. This is what we are trying to do and it's what you are all going to have to do in your jobs. I think we had a glorious 15 years where funding was steady in the arts, and you see that now because we've got the best arts and culture in the world. We've now got to get used to a very different funding model, it's going to be much tougher but the importance of what we all do is bigger than ever.

If you work or have worked in the arts, what advice would you give?

]]>0Tom Nelsonhttp://www.roh.org.uk/?p=63972014-05-19T15:58:44Z2011-11-15T10:10:18ZLast week we invited members of Young People in the Arts (YPIA) into the Royal Opera House to witness a ballet rehearsal of Asphodel Meadows with the talented young choreographer Liam Scarlett. YPIA is a forum for young professionals in the industry to meet informally and swap ideas.

Before the rehearsal started we were joined by Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, Tony Hall. I spoke to him about his career to date, what it takes to successfully lead an arts organisation and the future for opera and ballet.

You joined the Royal Opera House after working for many years at the BBC. What was it that gave you the impetus to make that leap?

A bit of chance really. The Royal Opera House had been through five Chief Executives in about four years. It had then been reopened brilliantly by Michael Kaiser, but he had returned to Washington so they had interviews for a successor. I didn’t think for one minute they’d go for me but they did - it was one of those glorious chances, which I was very happy to take.

Funnily enough, when you go for that sort of interview, you think there are lots of things that are different between running an arts venue and a broadcasting company. And of course there are, but there are also lots of similarities.

Risk-taking is one - not being able to define with absolute certainty when it’s working well and when it’s not. Defining what is good in the art that you’re doing is as difficult as programme-making at the BBC.

Another similarity is dealing with very devolved ways of working where you depend on teams delivering things. I remember spending some time at management school when I was in the BBC. The American view of leadership is that it’s all about leaders: that they do incredible things and work endless hours. Actually I think it’s quite the reverse in broadcasting and in this place. You depend absolutely on teams doing things. The conductor Edward Downes, who I met in my first few weeks, said “It’s all about teams”. I then recalled my first week at the BBC when I was told, “Remember, for you to be successful it depends entirely on a whole load of people to make the programme you want to make”.

The differences on the other hand are obvious. You confront your audiences here at the Royal Opera House, whereas in broadcasting, you hope you don’t.

It’s all very well having a great team, but what leadership is needed to nurture that?

Well, here we’re lucky. We have Antonio Pappano who’s outstanding as a musical director and Monica Mason leading The Royal Ballet. Beyond that, one of the things I thought about when I came here was that the conversation on the street and in the press was not about the art and it needed to be. It was about the troubles with reopening and battles on the board and difficult times. I felt that we needed to get over that and stress what this place is brilliant at: what people come to see on stage. It is also absolutely crucial to look outwards and see how you’re perceived from the outside.

So it’s about people, it’s about strategy and it’s about knowing where you’re going. The other thing is creating an environment where people can say what went wrong and talk about it without wanting to hide anything.

How do you facilitate that?

I think by being as open as you can about things that you’re not doing right or perceive to be wrong and having a conversation about it.

How do you balance the differing artistic requirements of opera, ballet and ROH2? It can’t all be smooth sailing can it?

I’d be telling a whopper if I said it was all smooth sailing. Of course it’s not. What I think has happened over the last decade is that we’ve got to know each other as a team. The whole thing is built around the schedule - everything is booked five years in advance for singers whereas the ballet schedule can turn on a sixpence. Kevin O’Hare is coming in [as Director, The Royal Ballet], we’ve got some great ideas for the 12/13 season and we can change things. Making sure that the ballet gets fair slots in the schedule is key and the only way to do that is to get everyone in a room to talk about it.

The next stage is to get ROH2 much more integrated into the main stage planning. We’ve got some fantastic ideas for 2013 with the anniversaries of Wagner, Verdi and Britten and how this building can come together and make big bold statements.

We now talk about 360 degree planning, a broadcasting phrase, and I think this is absolutely core. You look at all the resources you’ve got and once you’ve made your artistic decision you want to bring in all these things around it. We now plot exhibitions, online, cinema, big screens and TV so you get the whole panoply around what we’re going to do.

One of the things that struck me about the Cultural Olympiad, which I’m chairing, has been how many conversations are now going on between people that have not happened before. One of the things I did was to bring together arts leaders, the BBC, the Mayor’s office and the Arts Council – it’s meant that the conversations have started to happen and we can build things. I’m sure you feel this - we all get stuck in our various silos because this place is compelling and you could look inwards all the time. But you’ve got to look outwards.

There’s a wonderful event next summer inspired by the Titian happening at the National Gallery. We’ve got seven choreographers working with three Turner Prize winners, working with the National Gallery and three composers. It’s a wonderful statement about risk-taking; putting the artists at the heart of things and we’re joining up with another organisation we’ve never worked with before.

Last night the Royal Opera House launched its exclusive Cinema Season. Hosted by Lloyd Bracey and with assembled members of the press and some very recognisable faces including three from the world of opera and ballet, the evening began with a teaser of the productions to be screened, five live and five recorded including Madam Butterfly in 3D.

Royal Opera House Chief Executive, Tony Hall lead the celebration by saying, "This evening marks an exciting milestone for the Royal Opera House – from our first offering in 2007 – Don Giovanni to this, our first ever exclusive Season of ROH opera and ballet in 22 countries and more than 700 cinemas. It’s a moment to celebrate our move into Cinema, which, for us Cinema is about sharing our work with the UK and the rest of the World."

Royal Opera House Cinema Season is different to all other classical cinema seasons because, of course, it offers screenings of both opera AND ballet at affordable prices (from £8). As all of the ballet productions will be live those present were given a taste of what’s in store for ballet fans, an ‘up close and personal’ with two of the world’s finest dancers today – Royal Ballet Principals, Lauren Cuthbertson, and Sergei Polunin. Lauren and Sergei will dance the lead roles in both The Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet, to be screened live into cinemas as part of this new Season. And, with Rob Clark at the piano they danced the pas de deux from Act III of The Sleeping Beauty.

The first three opera productions to be screened will be Faust (live), Adriana Lecouvreur and Tosca. And what better way to let us experience the sheer power of these operas than to have their star, the truly gifted soprano and one of the world’s most glamorous opera singers, Angela Gheorghiu, at the launch to sing O mio babbino caro.

Angela was also interviewed, telling the audience that "Being live in cinemas is like a premiere". She also revealed that she is to be reunited on stage with husband Roberto Alagna in La bohème in 2012.

To close the evening, through the magic of cinema The Royal Opera Music Director, Tony Pappano gave us a sneaky glimpse at the kind of ‘extra’ that cinema audiences can expect as part of their experience, and in fact Angela has just recorded an introduction to Faust, to be broadcast before the live screening on 28 September.

Screening schedule

Wednesday 28 September 2011 Faust (The Royal Opera Live)

October 2011 Adriana Lecouvreur (The Royal Opera recorded)

November 2011 Tosca (The Royal Opera recorded)

Thursday 15 December 2011 The Sleeping Beauty (The Royal Ballet Live)

January 2012 Cendrillon (The Royal Opera recorded)

February 2012 Il trittico (The Royal Opera recorded)

March 2012 Madam Butterfly in 3D (The Royal Opera recorded, presented by RealD)

Thursday 22 March 2012 Romeo and Juliet (The Royal Ballet Live)

Tuesday 17 April 2012 Rigoletto (The Royal Opera Live)

Wednesday 16 May 2012 La Fille mal gardée (The Royal Ballet Live)

Will you be watching a cinema screening from the Royal Opera House? If so, what and where will you be watching from? Tell us via the comments below.

We are pleased to announce that Kasper Holten has been appointed Director of Opera, to succeed Elaine Padmore when she leaves The Royal Opera at the end of the 2010/11 Season.

A native of Copenhagen, 37 year old Mr Holten has been Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Opera since 2000, where he successfully led the move into Copenhagen’s new opera house in 2005.

Tony Hall, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House said: “Kasper Holten has done some fantastic and innovative work as a stage director and at the same time he has confirmed the Royal Danish Opera’s status as a major player in the international opera world. I look forward to working with him.”